Temple of aqua

Buried beneath Stevenson Park lies an essential part of Oak Park's water system that few people ever see. Last week, a small group, including some village trustees and members of the local media, were taken on a guided tour inside Oak Park's largest, and oldest, water reservoir.

The reservoir next to the pumping station at Lake and Lombard streets had been drained for scheduled maintenance and inspection, which happens about every five years.

With a capacity of 5 million gallons, this reservoir is double the size of each of Oak Park's three other reservoirs. The 2.5 million gallon reservoirs are at Hatch Elementary School, Stevenson Park and Barrie Park. Maintenance is typically done in the fall, when water consumption is low, rather than in the summer, when Oak Parkers can consume about 9 million gallons of water a day.

Public Works Director John Wielebnicki and

Brian Jack, water and sewer superintendent, led the tour through the pumping station and then into the reservoir.